I’ve always considered the pursuit of sport to be something for the elite, much like art, fashion, design, writing etc. You need significant financial support for a long time to really make it fields such as that. Now that may be a generalisation, but it’s mostly true I think
It’s not really a good comparison. Most of the fields you spoke off people can make a decent living off even without reaching the top.
But the people they talk about in the article already made it to the top. And they still can’t make a living.
More public funding would be the only option. But that’s hard to sell, many people don’t think it’s a worthwhile usage of funding. And it’s also very hard to measure the impact this kind of funding actually has. So it’s difficult to argue in favor of it. If the overall living situation of people would be better, I don’t think people would argue against it.
And there are plenty of other fields and industries that receive public funding (directly or indirectly) that deserve it even less.
It’s actually the opposite: sport is often the only realistic path out of systemic poverty for young people.
It doesn’t seem that realistic if you need to perform in the top 1% among all your poverty stricken competitors. There’s a finite number of places for successful athletes.
Especially when the people with financial resources will usually have a better chance of making it for one reason or another.
Of course, but it is a career path where a young person’s socioeconomic and cultural background is less likely to affect their chances of earning a wage that can take them and their families out of poverty.
I think some of you have a very privileged view of life. Go listen to footballers from Brazil talk about their experiences, for example. Or if you want something closer to home, listen to Indigenous AFL players talk about the opportunity sport provided them and their families.
You’re missing my point I think.
Sure, a not insignificant number of sports stars have a background that’s considered lower class, but the number of people living below that poverty line that will become sports stars is so low I’m not even sure how many zeros go between 0.[…]1%
Even if all of those people were top class athletes, there’s only room in the sports world for a few hundred of them at most.
It’s not a realistic career path, it’s a lottery that requires high level athletic skill.
No, I understand your point - it’s not like you are offering a particularly deep insight here.
The problem is that you are taking my original comment too literally. I am not arguing that it is a realistic career path in terms of overall success rates. I am saying that, relative to many other career paths in which these people face massive systemic and social roadblocks, sport is the only realistic option to escape poverty.
I see, my apologies.
I thought you were trying to say it was a realistic way for them to escape poverty when you said it was the only realistic way to escape poverty.
I don’t think this is limited to Australia.
Poverty is just so hot right now it’s catching on everywhere.
The biggest challenges were costs and financial insecurity, with elite athletes spending more each year on travel and accommodation for competitions than they did on food.
Athletes living below the poverty line have to pay for their travel and accommodation, while our politicians earning up to $600,000 a year get everything for free. Then they piggyback off the success of these athletes and use them to boost their own public image, whilst also failing to provide adequate funding to support the future success of these athletes and the generations to follow. Good shit.
If a country wants to prioritise doing well in the international sports scene, then that country needs to prioritise paying promising athletes to basically train full time to reach their maximum potential. If that country wants this. When the Olympics comes around if a country holds its worth and sense of national pride in being a great sporting nation and bases this on how many gold medals it wins, then it needs to ensure all its competing athletes have their full potential reached. Even stress from working a second job can lower performance. So while there are field adjacent careers these athletes could have like personal trainer, motivational speakers, worrying about income could impact their performance. Yes this does mean priveliged countries that focus and pay for their athletes have a better chance.
Definitely agree with what you said. The problem is finding the funds to support the athletes. Not all countries have the means to do so.
Champion swimmer Bronte Campbell said the biggest costs she racked up through her career were injury-related, and while injury support was brilliant when it was there, costs soon started to outweigh the support she received.
How is swimming or any other athletic activity a career?
I don’t want my taxes paying for frivolous non-careers. The cleaner and the secretary in my office earn similar amounts, and they’re actually contributing to society. The bloke down the road with his model trains also finds that the costs outweigh the support he receives. I don’t understand how they can seriously complain that they’re not being paid enough to pursue their hobby.
He also encouraged athletes to look for other revenue streams.
Yeah, no shit. I need another job to pay for my hobby too, where’s the problem?
Food $200
Data $150
Rent $800
Triple-jumping $3,600
Utility $150
someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying
Yeah, sorry, that’s glib of me, but I don’t think it’s unfair to say that in terms of victims of capitalism, athletes are a fair way down the list.
I’ve always wondered - how does a “professional amateur athlete” manage to earn a living? I’ve always assumed that they have parents of means that subsidize their passion to allow them to pursue their goals.
As an American I can not conceive of a career path that does not immediately provide fruit for labor - yes, I know this is a stunted view point but it is what I have. I would love to know of another way of following my passions without a viable means of support.
I know that I could absolutely crush a lot of my bucket-list goals if I didn’t have to earn along the way.
